Rimailho Model 1904TR
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The 155 mm Rimailho Howitzer Model 1904TR (or just the 155 CTR) was a medium
howitzer A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...
used by France before and during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.


Background

The name Rimailho comes from the designer of the gun Captain
Emile Rimailho Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...
a French artillery officer who was also involved in the design and testing of the famous
Canon de 75 modèle 1897 The French 75 mm field gun was a quick-firing field artillery piece adopted in March 1898. Its official French designation was: Matériel de 75mm Mle 1897. It was commonly known as the French 75, simply the 75 and Soixante-Quinze (Frenc ...
. The gun was designed in 1904 and the TR in the name means 'Tir Rapide' or Rapid Fire in English. Captain Rimailho's goal was to produce a medium artillery piece capable of a rate of fire equal to the modèle (Mle) 1897, which was no small feat for a gun of that size. In service a well-trained gun crew could achieve a rate of 15 rounds per minute, however the 1904TR was mechanically complex and its high rate of fire placed a great deal of stress on the gun.


Theory of operation

* After each round is fired the gun's breech is opened automatically . * While the gun runs back into battery the breech is held open. * The crew places a cartridge and shell onto the loading tray beneath the breach. * The motion of the gun returning to battery slides the loading tray up into place and the firing lever is cocked. * The firing lever is pulled and the cartridge and shell are rammed into the breech. * The breech then closes and the gun fires.


History

A firing demonstration was held at the French War College at
Langres Langres () is a commune in France, commune in northeastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Haute-Marne, in the Regions of France, region of Grand Est. History As the capital o ...
on September 4, 1906 with the French Minister of War,
Eugène Etienne Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin".French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...
. The French had neglected large calibre guns in favor of smaller and lighter artillery such as the Mle 1897. The Mle 1897 fit the French Army's doctrine of offence and manoeuver. This doctrine placed a great deal of emphasis on conducting battles in the open with room for cavalry and infantry to manoeuver and supported largely with direct-fire weapons. When the Western Front stagnated and both sides became entrenched in 1915 the French Army was at a disadvantage due to their lack of long range, large calibre artillery capable of high-angle fire. Although the 1904TR had a higher rate of fire than its German competitors such as the 15 cm sFH 02 and 15 cm sFH 13, the German guns outranged it and by 1916 the 1904TR no longer had sufficient range. The 1904 TR's carriage was also dated at the time of its introduction being patterned on older siege howitzers. The 1904TR was supplemented from early 1916 by the
Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 Schneider Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...
and the 1904TR was replaced after 1917 by the
Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider The Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider, often abbreviated as the ''C17S'', was a French howitzer designed by Schneider. It was essentially the ''Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 Schneider'' fitted with a different breech to use bagged propellant ra ...
. Due to their short range, most of the 155 CTR were used with powerful charges. This resulted in rapid wear of their barrels. None was in service at the end of the war. Only one surviving example is known of today at the
Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History The Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History (french: Musée Royal de l'Armée et d'Histoire Militaire, often abbreviated to MRA, nl, Koninklijk Museum van het Leger en de Krijgsgeschiedenis, KLM) is a military museum that occupi ...
in Brussels.


See also


Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

* 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze M 94 : Austro-Hungarian equivalent *
BL 6-inch 30 cwt howitzer The Ordnance BL 6 inch 30cwt howitzer was a British medium howitzer used in the Second Boer War and early in World War I. The qualifier "30cwt" refers to the weight of the barrel and breech together which weighed 30 hundredweight (cwt) : 30 × ...
: British equivalent * 15 cm sFH 02 : German equivalent *
6 inch field howitzer M-1908 The M1908 6-inch howitzer, officially the 6-inch Howitzer, Model of 1908, was the principal heavy howitzer piece of the U.S. Army prior to World War I. History Forty of these weapons had been produced before 1917, and all were employed within ...
: approximate US equivalent


References

* Hogg, Ian Twentieth-Century Artillery. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2000 * Journal of the United States Artillery, Volume 34, 1910. Fort Monroe, Virginia Coastal Artillery School Press. * The Encyclopædia Britannica: a dictionary of arts, sciences ..., Volume 20


External links



*http://www.landships.info/landships/artillery_articles/Canon_155_M1904_Rimailho.html {{WWIFrenchGuns Artillery of France Howitzers World War I field artillery of France 155 mm artillery